No. 5 Penn State tunes up for Big Ten against Georgia State
Sep 14, 2017 - 4:54 PM Georgia State (0-1) at No. 5 Penn State (2-0), Saturday 7:30 p.m. (BTN). Line: Penn State by 38½. Series Record: First meeting. WHAT'S AT STAKE The Nittany Lions get a final tuneup before starting their Big Ten title defense at Iowa next week. There are things Penn State could stand to clean up before then, namely a passing offense that was spotty against Pitt last week. In its eighth year of competition, Georgia State is still looking for a win against a Power Five opponent. The Panthers scared Wisconsin last season and led the Badgers early in the fourth quarter. KEY MATCHUP Georgia State's secondary vs. Penn State's receivers. Certainly, the Panthers will crowd the line to try and slow RB Saquon Barkley. Eventually, they'll have to stop a group of wideouts that includes speedsters DaeSean Hamilton and DeAndre Thompkins and TE Mike Gesicki, who has caught 16 passes for 230 yards and seven touchdowns in his last five games. Barkley caught a 46-yard touchdown pass last week, so there's that too. PLAYERS TO WATCH Georgia State: WR Penny Hart. Back after missing nearly all of 2016 with a broken foot, Hart is the Panthers' biggest playmaker on offense. He set a Sun Belt record with 1,099 receiving yards as a freshman. Penn State: QB Trace McSorley. The junior quarterback attributed some of his off-the-mark throws to early "jitters" last week. Considering he's completed 61 percent or more of his passes in four of his last five games, it'd be reasonable to think he'll bounce back. FACTS & FIGURES Barkley leads the Big Ten and is second in the nation with 215 all-purpose yards per game. . Gesicki will tie Penn State's record for career touchdown catches by a tight end with one more. . Penn State hasn't hosted a team from Georgia since Georgia Tech visited Happy Valley in 1923. . Georgia State is coming off a bye. . The Panthers are 0-8 against Power Five teams. . This game will be Georgia State's first on natural grass since 2015. ___ More AP college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25No one has shouted yet.
Be the first!
Be the first!
Related News
- BSD’s Festivus Airing of the Grievances 2023 Dec 23
- Run It Back: TE Tyler Warren Announces Return to Penn State in 2024 Dec 22
- All-American LT Olu Fashanu Declares For 2024 NFL Draft Dec 22
- Daequan Hardy Forgoing 6th Season, Will Enter 2024 NFL Draft Dec 21
- D-II Transfer OT Alan Herron Rescinds Penn State Commitment, Flips To Maryland Dec 21
- 2024 Penn State Recruiting Class Superlatives Dec 21
- SWH is Looking to the Future Dec 21
- Penn State Football Recruiting: Recapping National Signing Day 2023 Dec 20
- BSD Early NSD Roundtable: What 2024 Defensive Prospect Excites You The Most? Dec 20
- MMQB - How Are You Feeling about Penn State’s New Coordinators? Dec 18
- Tulsa Kicker Chase Meyer Announces Transfer To Penn State Dec 17
- REPORT: Penn State to Hire Former Indiana Head Coach Tom Allen as Defensive Coordinator Dec 17